Inconnu Los Carneros Merlot, deep dark, lush and fantastically smooth
Summer Sale!
Words from Ned:
Laura's Merlot is one of her most sought after rare wines. It's deep and dark and fantastically smooth. The fruit is ripe and dense and it has that supple Merlot weight, but it's balanced and pretty and not too heavy. This reminds me of the perfect balance I get from some of my favorite Merlots from Saint Emilion. The grapes come from a single Western facing hillside vineyard, farmed organically, with vine age at about 20-25 years. This ferments slow and cool with native yeast in a single 1.5 ton vat, then spends two weeks on the skins post fermentation and finishes with 18 months in a mix of neutral and twice used Demptos barrels.
Aroma: dark, blackberry, hint of tomato leaf and sort of chocolatey. The aroma is sexy but not in an over the top contrived way- it's all these sexy aromas and flavors together in harmony...
Taste: mmm, it has that supple texture and inky blackberry fruit I associate with Merlot. It's fresh and dynamic; the blackberry up front is vivid but also lush, the mid palate maintains that racy edge but adds a hint of black currant and dark bittersweet chocolate. the finish is smooth and elegant- very gentle tannins that just let the fruit flavors gently fade.